Latch structure



April 22, 1952 H. R. DICKINSON LATCH STRUCTURE Filed Sept. 19, 1949 FIG. 2.

ATTORNEYS HENRY RANDEL DICKNSON Patented Apr. 22, 1952 UNITED STATES 2,593,662 LATCH STRUCTURE Henry Handel Dickinson, Grand Rapids, Mich, assignor to Grand Rapids Hardware Company, Grand Rapids, Mich, a corporation of Mich- Application September 19, 1949, Serial Ne. 11$,566

1 Claim.

This invention relates to a novel latch of simple and practical-structure by which, in one position, a door or other closure may be automatically held and retained in latched position by the latch and in another position the latch made inoperative to connect with the keeper pin with which it engages.

The latch of the present invention is released .by an outward pull on a centrally located stem,

and by turning the stem about its longitudinal axis by means of an attached handle or other equivalent means, the latch may be held in its released position and will not re-engage with its retainer when a door or other closure on which the latch is mounted is moved or placed in closed position. However the latch may be returned to operative position by turning the stem to its initial position. This may be done either before or after the door or other closure is moved to closed position.

Such latch, for example, may be used in connection with the top closures for caskets or shipping boxes on which a plurality of the latches may be installed to engage with retaining or keeper pins on the casket or box. The release of a plurality of latches under such circumstances requires a holding or maintaining of the released latches in inoperative position so that the covering closure may be wholly freed by releasing the latches one after the other.

There are many other places of use for the latch which I have invented, particularly in conjunction With closures which require more than one of such latches. On a closure having a single latch the outward withdrawal of the latch by pulling on the actuating pin readily releases such single latch closure and the latch will automatically connect with its keeper pin when the closure, door or otherwise is again closed. But with a plu-. rality of latches the opening of the closure cannot take place unless all of the latches are disen aged and held in disengaged positions. Each latch after the closure has been opened or removed may be then returned to its. automatic. engaging position the latches may be' thus released to engage with their keepers on the structure with which the closure is used.

2 Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the cammine member of Figs. 1 and 2 which affects an outward releasing movement of the latch upon turn- An understanding of the invention may be had from the following description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, in which Fig. 1 is a central vertical section through one form or embodiment of my invention, showing the latch in its operative engagingposition,

Fig. 2 is a similar section illustrating the release of the latch and the manner in which it is held in released position whether or not it may be, in its normal position to. connect with its keeper pin,

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of a modified or different structural embodiment of the invention,

Fig. 4 is a perspective View, showing an equivalent of the latch in Fig. 3, and inefiecta reverse of the latch releasing. and holding structure of Fig. 3, and

ing it about a longitudinal axis of the latch pin or stem.

Like reference characters. refer to like parts in the diiferent figures of the drawing. I

The closure which may be a door to close a door opening, or a removable top for example in a casket closure, or closures for many kinds of receptacles, is indicated fragmentarily at I, and the door jamb, or casket or receptacle to which the closure is to be applied is similarly indicated at 2. On the door jamb or frame or on such casket or receptacle, the retaining keepers with which the latches engage each comprises a plate 3, which may be screw connected to the part 2 and from which a pin l extends outwardly and is preferably pointed at its outer end projects, being permanently secured to or integral with the plate 3.

The latch one or more of which may be installed on the closure 5 includes a cup-like housing 5, having a closed outer end except for a central opening through it and an open inner end, from which clinching tongues extend through a plate 6 which at its center has an opening through it. The pin t passes through said opening onengaging a latch therewith. At the inner side of the plate 6 and centrally located within the open end portion of the housing '5 a ring 1 is located, the inner sides of which converge toward each other in an outward direction, the surface at the inner side of the ring l being of a frustro-conical form.

A latch stem 8 passes freely through the opening in the outer closed end of the housing 5 and is adapted to have slidable movements there through in the direction of its length. At its outer end it is equipped with a heading 9 of frustroconical form. The head 9 has an axial opening therethrough which extends into the stem 8, and in the sides of the head 9 lateral openings are made in which balls Ii) are located which bear against the inner conical surfaces of the ring 1 when the latch is in closed position. The balls are retained in the head, the openings in which the balls are located extending through the head so that when the latch engages with the pin 4 the balls are pressed thereagainst by wedging action, as the stem and head are forced toward an outer position by a coiled compression spring ll, between the shoulder at the inner end of the head and the closed end of the housing 5. The spring l I is around the stem 8 as shown.

In. the structure shown in Figs. 1 and 2, a ring 12 of metal is located at the outer side of the closure 5, having a central opening through which the housing 5 passes. Such ring is.per-' manently secured, together with the plate 6, on the closure I by screws or other suitable fastenings as shown in Figs. 1 and 2. The ring at its outer face and at one side has. a projecting cam l3 extending away from the closure I, one

end at least of which is at an angle to the plane of the ring. Both end edges may be located at an angle to such plane without departing from the invention.

A handle I4 is secured to the outer projecting end portion of the stem 8. It is recessed at its inner side for the entrance of the closed inner portion of the housing 5 thereinto, the dimensions of the recess and of the housing being such that the handle may be freely rotated about and moved inward and outward with respect to the said housing 5. Such handle 14 at its inner end around the recess therein has at one point a notch as indicated at I5 complementary to and for the purpose of receiving the projecting cam member I3, as indicated at Hi. When such notch and the projecting cam l3 are in conjunction, the effect of the spring il is to pull the inner side of the handle I against the ring [2, thereby moving the head 9 of the latch stem outwardly and force the balls 19 into a position so they will grip the pin 4 when it is forced between the balls. The handle 56 may be either a knob which can be grasped or turned by the hand, or it may have a projecting free end portion for hand engagement to turn the handle and the attached stem 8 about the longitudinal axis of the stem.

With the parts engaged as shown in Fig. l, and with the wedge induced gripping of pin 4 by the balls Hi, the closure I, door or otherwise, is securely held from movement. By turning the handle I4 about the axis of the stem 8, the inter-action of the complementary cam at an end of the recess 15 against an inclined cam and of the projection l3 withdraws or moves the stem 8 and handle outwardly thus freeing the gripping balls [6 from the pin 4. And after the cams have passed by each other the inner face of the handle [4 will be held against the fiat outer end surface of the projection l3, preventing the latch from automatic re-engagement with the pin t when the closure is moved to closed position or while it is in such position. This permits a release ofeither one or several latches on a closure. When several latches are used, it is necessary that all of the latches be held against gripping their pins 5 with which they had been engaged, in order that the closure may be moved from the casket, receptacle or door opening which it has previously closed.

In Figs. 3 and 4, somewhat modified embodiments of the invention are shown. The ring member i2 is eliminated. In the top or other end of the housing 5 in Fig.3, diametrically opposed radial recesses it are made and a rod I1 is passed diametrically through the stem 8 which, when its projecting end portions are seated in the recesses at l6, releases the stem 8 and the head 9 to move under the pressure of the spring H to keeper pin engaging position. But on turning the stem 8 about its longitudinal axis, the pin or rod ll rides out of said recesses and against the outer fiat portions of the closed end of the housing 5, holding said stem 8 and head 9 at an outer position, similar to that as illustrated in Fig. 2, and in which position gripping re-engagement with the pin 4 is prevented until the stem 8 has been turned to reseat the rod [1 in the grooves or recesses 16.

In Fig. 4 instead of the downwardly pressed recesses IS the top or closed end of the housing is provided with diametrically opposed outwardly extending rises or hills 1% having fiat projecting end portions of the rod 11 ride up the inclined sides of the hill or rib I 8 until they reach the fiat outer side, in which position they will hold the latch so that it does not connect with and grip the keeper pin 4 when the closure is moved to closing position.

In all forms of the latch structure disclosed the action for releasing the latch is to turn the stem 8 about its longitudinal axis which causes a simultaneous outward longitudinal movement of the stem and a holding of such stem in an outer inoperative position for the latch to grip the keeper pin 4. The release is by turning the stem 8 back to its initial position.

The structure described is economical to produce and is very certain and sure in its operation.

The invention is defined in the appended claim and is to be considered comprehensive of all forms of structure coming within its scope.

I claim:

In a latch structure a hollow housing having an outer end and an open inner end closed except for a central opening therethrough adapted to extend, at its open end portion, through a closure-on which it is adapted to be secured, a plate at the open end of the housing secured thereto adapted to be connected at the inner side of a closure, said plate having an opening therein for entrance into the open end of said housing, a stem slidably extending through the opening in the closed end of the housing, cooperating gripping means on the stem at its inner end, and on said plate, and a spring around said stem for moving said stem inwardly to bring said gripping means into operation adapting it to grip a keeper pin extending through said opening in the plate into the housing, a member secured to the inner end portion of the stem, a ring surrounding the housing adapted to be secured at the outer side of a closure in fixed relation to the housing between the ends of the housing, said ring, at one portion of its length, having an outwardly extending projection and said member secured to the stem having a cooperating recess to, receive said projection, whereby on pulling the stem outwardly and turning the stem about its longitudinal axis by said member, the stem is pulled and said gripping means is released.

HENRY RANDEL DICKINSON.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,966,205 Johnson July 10, 1934 1,967,592 Rawlings July 24, 1934 2,356,403 Heidman et al Aug. 22, 1944 2,478,589 McKenzie Aug. 9, 1949 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 229,052 Great Britain Feb. 19, 1925 694,793 France Sept. 22, 1930 

